A country won’t stand for long without a strong national defense. This requires a robust military that’s well-equipped to take on challenges. Unfortunately, our nation’s own military has been struggling for quite some time.

Thanks to the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, many great servicemembers were forced out of the military for refusing a vaccine that would not prevent virus infection or spread.

Republicans consistently sounded the alarm about the negative impacts of such a mandate on the military and its recruitment efforts. However, these warnings from various GOP officials have largely been ignored by the Biden administration and other Democrats.

This mandate decreased overall morale in the military. However, it seems as though the problems are only just beginning. A new troubling study revealed by American Military News truly shows how poorly the future looks for our national defense.

Few Eligible Recruits

In recent years, there have been reports of fewer Americans feeling motivated to join the armed forces than in years past. However, another issue emerged in present day, as the pool of viable applicants has significantly shrunk.

A study conducted by the Pentagon recently discovered that a grand 77% of young Americans don’t meet the standards for military service. Their inability to meet the mark largely boils down to these folks being too out of shape, overweight, or otherwise burdened with other physical ailments.

WE’RE AT THE “PHYSICAL FITNESS IS OPTIONAL” PHASE OF THE MILITARY RECRUITMENT CRISIS PIC.TWITTER.COM/NWP35DBG5F

— BOWTIEDRANGER (@BOWTIEDRANGER) FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Other setbacks that reduced the viable pool of potential military applicants are psychological problems and the use of drugs.

44% of the 77% of young Americans ineligible for the military also have multiple of the aforementioned problems that disqualify them from service, rather than just one.

Additional information from the US Department of Defense indicates seemingly no game plan for getting military recruitment back to where it needs to be.

According to spokesperson Maj. Charlie Dietz, struggles facing veterans are a likely factor dissuading new military recruits. Moreover, the Defense Department spokesperson says that previous generations showed greater interest and affinity to serving their country, compared to their present-day counterparts.

At the height of controversial COVID restrictions, this also blocked the military from conducting various efforts designed to recruit new people.

LET NO ONE EVER ASK AGAIN WHY MILITARY RECRUITMENT IS AT A RECORD LOW. HTTPS://T.CO/1KBMVZIY76

— DANA LOESCH (@DLOESCH) MARCH 8, 2023

Last year, the Defense Department projected that it would be unable to meet its military recruitment goals.

The Biden administration, to this day, has not actively spoken about our country’s military recruitment struggles or how to fix them. Unless something changes soon, there’s no telling if America will even have a viable military left within the next decade or so.

Are you concerned about the new military study released by the Pentagon? What do you think is necessary to fix the military recruitment problems that our country is experiencing? Please weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.